Speed tweak to iPad App Store UI seen ahead of iPad 3 launch
updated 08:05 pm EST, Tue March 6, 2012
More left-scrolling gives apps more screen space
Apple has quietly updated the iPad version of the App Store for iOS with minor tweaks ahead of (and possibly in preparation for) the iPad 3 debut on Wednesday, AppleInsider reports. The changes mostly involve using more unhinted horizontal scrolling, which allows (for example) the Top Paid and Top Free iPad apps to be on screen in a more pleasing manner with more information available per app. Users can swipe each "list" to the left to see additional selections.
Apple recently sent notes to developers requiring that screenshots and icons needed to be updated for Retina Display resolutions, with screenshots for new and updated submissions now required to be 960x640 or better. Applications that fail to provide high-rez screenshots may be rejected, the company warns. The next iPad is expected to double it's screen specs from the current 1,280x768 to 2,560x1,536, making it higher than even 1280p HDTVs in terms of resolution.
The new layout shows only six apps from each list at a time, which speeds up the presentation of the page as well, allowing additional icons to be pre-fetched off-screen. The move is a continuation of the implementation of horizontal swiping which replaces the former "push arrow" button functionality that was removed from the iPad's App Store pages in November. [via AppleInsider]
